THE
LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGThe
Lord of the Rings, the book of the 20th Century, has become the
motion picture event of the 21st Century—groundbreaking epic
of good versus evil, extraordinary heroes, wondrous creatures and
dark armies of terror. Review
by Greg Wright

(2001)This page was created on December 04, 1999This
page was last updated on
June 3, 2005

The Lord of The Rings:
The Fellowship of The Ring
- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Howard Shore, Enya
1. The Prophecy 2. Concerning Hobbits 3. The Shadow Of The Past
4. The Treason Of Isengard 5. The Black Rider 6. At The Sign Of
The Prancing Pony 7. A Knife In The Dark 8. Flight To The Ford 9.
Many Meetings 10. The Council Of Elrond [featuring the song "Aniron
(Theme For Aragorn And Arwen)" composed & performed by
Enya] 11. The Ring Goes South 12. A Journey In The Dark 13. The
Bridge Of Khazad Dum 14. LothLórien 15. The Great River 16. Amon
Hen 17. The Breaking Of The Fellowship 18. May It Be [composed &
performed by Enya]

Power
Can Be Held In The Smallest Of Things

STUDIO
SYNOPSIS:
The Lord of the Rings, the book of the 20th Century is about to
become the motion picture event of the 21st Century ? A groundbreaking
epic of good versus evil, extraordinary heroes, wondrous creatures
and dark armies of terror. Generations of more than 50 million people
around the globe, in 25 different languages have grown up with this
epic history. The legend has inspired an entire genre of movies,
fiction, and has influenced some of the greatest artists of our
time. It has made dreamers out of children and adults, and has recently
been named the number one most popular book of the century. But
it has never been told in its entirety on the screen.

Using
the power of contemporary cinema technology, New Line Cinema is
proud to transform J.R.R. Tolkien?s The Lord of the Rings into a
history-making motion picture event. Beginning in the year 2001,
New Line will present a grand trilogy of live-action feature films—The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of
the King—that will take audiences inside Tolkien?s living, breathing
mythology, the world that is Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings
will collectively re-tell the story of Frodo Baggins, who battles
against the Dark Lord, Sauron to save Middle-earth from the grip
of evil. In the films, Frodo and The Fellowship embarks on a desperate
journey to rid the earth of the source of Sauron?s greatest strength,
the One Ring, a ring of such power that it cannot be destroyed.
His extraordinary adventures across the treacherous landscape of
Middle-earth reveal how the power of friendship and courage can
hold the forces of darkness at bay.

By
shooting all three films consecutively during one massive production
and post-production schedule, New Line Cinema is making history.
Never before has such a monumental undertaking been contemplated
or executed. The commitment of time, resources and manpower are
unheard of as all three films and more than 1,000 effects shots
are being produced concurrently with the same director and core
cast. Helmer Peter Jackson, whose visionary style of filmmaking
and emotional acuity won accolades for his Heavenly Creatures and
The Frighteners, brings his deep love for the source material to
the project.

The
film features a strong international cast that includes (in alphabetical
order) Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy
Boyd, Brad Dourif, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic
Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davis, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler,
and Elijah Wood. But the real star of the film is the story itself
- a classic hero?s quest in which the smallest of beings changes
the course of the future with the vastness of his courage.

The
Lord of the Rings collectively tells the story of Frodo Baggins,
a Hobbit who battles against the Dark Lord Sauron to save his world,
Middle-earth, from the grip of evil. In the trilogy of films, The
Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King,
Frodo and his Fellowship of friends and allies embark on a desperate
journey to rid the earth of the source of Sauron's greatest strength,
the One Ring—a ring that has the power to enslave the inhabitants
of Middle-earth. The trilogy chronicles extraordinary adventures
across the treacherous landscape of Middle-earth and reveals how
the power of friendship, love and courage can hold the forces of
darkness at bay.

The director of The Fellowship of the Ring has walked a very fine
line between faithfulness to J.R.R. Tolkien's vision and placing
upon that vision his own unique stamp; and he has managed to do
it, for the most part, consummately. Alternately rushed
and elegaic, perfunctory and moving, Jackson's film version of the
novel manages to portray the key elements that make Middle-earth a fantasy reader's preferred destination. At the same
time, Jackson has lifted some of the lesser themes from the novel
into the foreground, presenting some new spiritual ideas to his
audience for consideration.

First and foremost, the story remains
one of the tension between Free Will and Providence. The best
of Gandalf's words from the book remain intact, if condensed mostly
into one speech to Frodo at the crossroads in Moria, reminding Frodo
(and the audience) that, first, there are other hands than our own
guiding our fate; and second, that it remains up to us to decide
what to do with the time that we have (see the treatment of these
themes on Hollywood Jesus' reviews of Book
I and Book II
of The Fellowship of the Ring).

But the first of the elements that
makes this uniquely Jackson's picture, and one that works very well,
is the emphasis on the temptation of The Ring. Gandalf, Bilbo,
Boromir, Galadriel, Aragorn and even Elrond (partly through the
Prologue) are all given extended, lingering chances to ponder the
significance of the chance at unrestrained power. While most
of these encounters occur in the book as well, the opportunies
that are added (Boromir at the Red Horn Pass and Aragorn at Amon
Hen) and the time devoted by Jackson to the other encounters makes
it clear that personal response to temptation is one issue with
which he hopes to confront his audience.

The second element dominates the
closing moments of the film, though it is foreshadowed in the extended
treatment of Gandalf's visit with Saruman. For Jackson, it
doesn't seem enough that Tolkien's heroes go on motivated by
the conviction of things not seen (the definition of faith
found in Hebrews 11:1, one with which Tolkien seems utterly content).
Instead, the characters can only go on by knowing precisely where
they are headed, and why. For instance, Pippin and Merry no
longer play an unwitting part in protecting Sam and Frodo;
instead, knowing that Frodo is leaving the Fellowship, they deliberately
draw the fire of the Orcs. Likewise, Aragorn, Legolas and
Gimli do not go in pursuit of the two hobbits having to guess at
Sam and Frodo's fate; they know. I doubt that Tolkien
would have been enthused at this change. In his vision, acceptance
of not knowing was precisely part of properly understanding
the relation of Free Will and Providence.

The third element comes at the very
end of the film, as Sam sinks into the waters of Anduin, reaching
out for help. To this point (the exception being very brief
sequences in the Shire), Jackson's film has been exceedingly dark.
Even in Rivendell it is fall, and the colors are muted; and most
of the truncated Lórien sequence takes place in twilight.
Why? Where is the light? Jackson answers with a vision
straight from Michelangelo: the vision of the hand of Man reaching
out to God for Salvation, coming in the form—here—of
the hand of another Hobbit assisted by a bright Light. It's
an audacious addition to Tolkien's vision, and it works!

Visualization
from the Printed Page to the Screen

A (mostly) live-action film has been in the minds of many a fan since
the days of the first Star Wars movie. The ability of cinema
technology to blend live-action sequences with CGI and other special
effects has finally made the film presentation of even the most fantastic
images a reality. So how does TFOTR score? Excellent,
in most ways. The art direction in general is fabulous (well,
it kind of had to be, didn't it?), and certain locations (the Shire,
Rivendell and the Argonath, as examples) are terrifically realized.
Overall, though, the world of Middle-earth seemed a little greasier
and dirty than I had imagined it. Am I alone here? Am
I revealing my borderline-Boomer status? Let's hear from the
X-ers on this one...

Expanded
Roles for Some Characters...

It's natural that some details of the plot and characters should change
in order to make the transition from book to screen. In past
efforts, as in the present, it has been obvious that you just can't
pack all those characters into the available screen time. So
what do you do? Obviously a lot have to go (like Tom Bombadil!)
and others must be presented as composites. But what's up with
the expanded roles for Arwen and Elrond? In the book, they surface
only in Rivendell, while in the movie, they explicitly become
significant players in the drama. Why? Presuming that
expanded roles weren't the price to pay to get the actors Jackson
wanted, it's pretty easy to account for Liv Tyler's presence.
With the second movie still a year away, you can't really wait until
the second movie for Éowyn to appear as the series' primary romance
interest. A viable love interest must appear early to give
the movie a strong, young, attractive female character, making
the stand-alone-film formula work. It does leave one to wonder,
though, what role will actually be left for Éowyn to play as the story
progresses. Will Tyler be given less to do in Part II?
Hmmm... Regarding Elrond, his newly-visualized (Prologue) warrior
status (though true to the novel) will presumably just simplify things,
obviating the need to account for his sons Elladan and Elrohir...
We shall see.

...And
Reduced Roles for Others

Tom Bombadil is not the only character MIA. There are myriad
others. But, as with other adaptations, Bombadil's absence is
the most significant, and troublesome. Does he disappear simply
because, like the rest of us, Jackson has no clue what Bombadil is
to represent? Certainly, Tolkien spent a great number of words
on Bombadil for a reason, and it could only have been to clarify things
spiritual: for instance, that there are powers in the world over which
things material (and even magical) have no power. Do these spiritual
implications come through strongly enough in the movie without Bombadil?
Do they need to? Jackson seems to have substituted magically-powered
females and wizard-duels for the role intended for Bombadil.
Why do Elrond and Celeborn seem so, uh, reserved in comparison to
their female counterparts?

The
Performances

It's certainly a pleasure to see many familiar faces from around the
world cropping up in wonderful and delightful ways. After The
Matrix, for instance, it's great to see Hugo Weaving get a turn
at ancient nobility as Elrond. Likewise, it's absolute genius
to cast Ian Holm as Bilbo. And while other international favorites
such as Christopher Lee, Ian McKellan and Cate Blanchett contribute
in major roles, I'll go out on a limb here and nominate Sean Astin
as the casting coup of the series, and the heart of the film.
Ever since Rudy, Astin has deserved a shot at anchoring a major film,
and here he shines.

The
Bottom Line

Though it's clear that this is a darker—and scarier—vision of Middle-earth than comes across on the printed page, we
really don't know about the bottom line yet, do we? Obviously,
the film succeeds as terrific entertainment for adolescents
and adults, and will no doubt sate the appetite of Tolkien addicts
as least for a few months. Box-office records will fall, and fall
mightily. But what about the entire series? Will it become
flabby and perfunctory, like the Star Wars series? Or
will it actually build momentum, and end with as satisfying
a conclusion as the novels? We shall only be able to
wait and see, I am afraid.

In the mean time, what do you think? Is the movie an offense
to the culture? A Balrog on your Bridge of Khazad-dûm?
A flower in your Ithilien? Has Tolkien been slimed?
Let us know your thoughts!